Business

NSE Transactions Resume On Positive Note …As Index Up By 1.31%

Published

8 years ago

January 31, 2018

The Tide source reports that market index rose by 572.72 points or 1.31 per cent to close at 44,306.48 against 43,733.76 last Friday at the Nigeria Stock Exchange.
Also, the market capitalisation which opened at N15.691 trillion inched N191 billion to close at N15.882 trillion.
According to our source, the market performance was contrary to market analysts’ expectations having predicted that the market would nosedive due to month-end portfolio rebalancing.
An analysis of the price movement table showed that the market growth was driven by Dangote Cement gaining N7.90 to close at N268 per share.
Stanbic IBTC followed with N1 to close at N45, while UACN added 60k to close at N17.60 per share.
Forte Oil grew by 60k to close at N50, while Eterna Oil increased by 43k to close at N5.89 per share.
On the other hand, Guinness topped the losers’ chart with a loss of N2 to close at N110 per share.
Nigerian Breweries trailed with N1.80 loss to close at N150, while Dangote Sugar Refinery shed N1 to close at N20.95 per share.
Flour Mills was down by 50k to close at N30.90, while Guaranty Trust Bank declined by 30k to close at N48.70 per share.
However, the volume of shares traded dropped by 39.32 per cent with an exchange of 573.35 million shares valued at N5.88 billion achieved in 6,756 deals.
This was in contrast with 944.86 million shares worth N7.13 billion transacted in 8,166 deals on Friday.
FCMB Group drove the activity chart, trading 169.12 million shares worth N547.03 million.
Access Bank followed with an account of 42.53 million shares valued at N553.48 million, while United Bank for Africa traded 39.52 million shares worth N513.68 million.
Honey Well Flour exchanged 33.66 million shares valued at N91.50 million, while Zenith International Bank sold 32.84 million shares worth N1.02 billion.
They said it that the new share pricing regime would allow share prices to trade as low as one kobo and boost inflow foreign investments.
The experts, in separate interviews with the newsmen in Lagos, said that the method would also enable investors to categorise stocks on the NSE.
The new pricing method started on Monday, January 29.
Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella, said that the NSE must of necessity update its pricing method from time to time for trading to be transparent.
He said that for any stock exchange to attract foreigners to participate in its trading and invariably in the economy, it must adhere to global best practices.
Tella said that the method must be well implemented to leave no one in doubt about a particular stock.
The Head of Banking and Finance Department, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Dr Uche Uwaleke, said that inflation and depreciation of the naira had made the new pricing method imperative.
Uwaleke said that the NSE needed to be in conformity with global best practices in terms of rules and regulations.
He, however, called for proper implementation of the new method to achieve the desired results.
Our source reports that Mr Abimbola Babalola, NSE Head of Market Surveillance and Investigation, said that the new method was “aimed at improving liquidity, narrowing spreads and ensuring that all price-improving transactions had material impact.”
Babalola said the new rules would effectively remove the current rule which placed minimum allowable price for any stock to trade at its nominal value, irrespective of the market forces.
He said that as a result, stocks would be under new groupings and pricing rules and that price of every share listed on the NSE would be determined by market forces.
According to him, Group A, shall consist of large-cap equities that are priced at N100 per share or above for at least four of the last six trading months, or new security listings that are priced at N100 or above.
Group B, shall consist of medium-priced equities that are priced at N5 per share or above, but less than N100 per share for at least four of the last six months, or new security listings priced at N5 per share or above at the time of listing.

Business

PENGASSAN Tasks Multinationals On Workers’ Salary Increase

Published

5 days ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has asked companies in the oil and gas sector to undertake urgent review of salaries of their workers in view of the prevailing harsh economic conditions in the country.

Also, the pensioners of Chevron Nigeria, under the aegis PenCoN, have lauded the President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo and his executive on their unrelenting efforts toward addressing pension abnormalities faced by retired workers in the oil and gas industry.

The association also appealed to the federal government to take necessary measures to check banditry and terrorist activities in parts of the country.

PENGASSAN President, Osifo who addressed journalists shortly after the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Abuja, at the weekend, said that though a lot of success has been recorded in negotiating salary reviews for its members, there are still organisations that have failed to lift their workers from the present harsh economic situation.

He said within this period, PENGASSAN has signed numerous Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) which has brought smiles to the faces of its teeming members.

“This is because we recognise that our job, literally, is how to protect the job of our members, and how to enhance their pay,” he said.

Osifo said that operators in the oil and gas sectors always go for the best qualified professionals to carry out their operations.

“So, the same way they recruit the best, we also challenge them to provide the best condition of service and provide the best remuneration.

“Yes, today, a lot of companies will have achieved successes, but there are still few that we are still discussing at their CBAs, that we are not yet there.

“We still use this opportunity to call on these companies that are still foot dragging, that are still holding back, even with the massive devaluation that has occurred in our country, that still don’t want to fix the remuneration of our members.

“We are calling on them to do the needful, because for us in PENGASSAN we will push without holding back. We will push, using everything in our arsenal, to ensure that the needful is done,” he said.

Osifo spoke of the dispute with the Dangote Refinery group, saying there are still pending issues to be resolved.

“Gentlemen of the press, during the networking session, we also looked at the issues that are plaguing some of our branches, and you know that recently, we had some challenges in Dangote Refinery and PetroChemicals Ltd.

“And within this period, since our last National Industrial Action, we have been engaging them in a lot of conversations, but the issues are not fully resolved. There are still a lot of pending issues.

“Yes, the NEC decided that, yes, let us still consummate that process by pushing those issues, by engaging in dialogue to resolve the issues, and by also engaging all our social partners and stakeholders to get the issues resolved,” he said.

Business

SEC Unveils Digital Regulatory Hub To Boost Oversight Across Financial Markets

Published

5 days ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched the Regulatory Hub, a new centralized digital platform designed to streamline collaboration, strengthen oversight, and improve transparency across Nigeria’s financial and capital market ecosystem.

The Commission disclosed this in a statement posted on its website.

According to the commission, the platform connects key regulatory and security institutions including the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), enabling them to exchange information securely and in real time.

The launch of this regulatory hub comes ahead of the implementation of new tax laws in January 2026, with agencies such as the FIRS spreading its tentacles across sector to monitor compliance.

According to the SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, the launch marks a significant step toward modernizing Nigeria’s regulatory framework through technology.

“The Regulatory Hub is a major step in our commitment to leverage technology for stronger regulatory synergy. By connecting regulators on one platform, we are building resilience, enhancing market integrity, and promoting investor confidence,” he said.

The SEC said the platform would help reduce bottlenecks in regulatory processes and facilitate faster, more informed decision-making across agencies.

Reinforcing the DG’s comments, the Executive Commissioner, Operations, Bola Ajomale, highlighted the operational benefits of the new system.

“The platform will significantly improve the timeliness and quality of regulatory decision-making. It provides a single window for regulators to share data, respond to requests, and collaborate seamlessly in safeguarding our financial and capital markets,” he said.

The commission believes the Regulatory Hub would support its broader mandate to strengthen investor protection, enhance market stability, and harmonize regulatory activities across the financial sector.

It urged stakeholders to initiate interest by emailing the Commission, adding that once registered, participants would be able to access the Hub and take advantage of its features.

Business

NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products

Published

5 days ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing circulation of banned food products across markets in the country.

The agency, in a Press Release dated 6 December 2025, warned that these items including pasta, noodles, sugar and tomato paste are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are illegal to import.

NAFDAC stated that the sale and distribution of such prohibited items violate national trade laws, compromise the integrity of Nigeria’s food control system, and pose significant public health risks, as they have not undergone the agency’s mandatory safety and quality evaluations.

Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.

The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.

The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.

“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.

NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu